Maps can show more than just where things are—they can also show how things change. New maps of artificial light reveal a planet that has been reshaping its nights through patterns of brightening and dimming.
The maps are based on a recent analysis of NASA’s Black Marble data, which found that instead of a gradual increase in artificial light at night over the course of nearly a decade, the patterns are much more nuanced. The analysis portrays a world flickering with industrial booms and busts, construction, and blackouts, as well as more gradual shifts, such as policy-driven retrofits.
NASA’s Black Marble product uses observations from the VIIRS (Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite) sensors on the Suomi-NPP, NOAA-20, and NOAA-21 satellites to produce records of nighttime lights at daily, monthly, and yearly time scales. The VIIRS day-night band detects nighttime light in a range of wavelengths from green to near-infrared and uses filtering techniques to observe signals such as city lights, reflected moonlight, and auroras.
The map above shows changes in brightness across most of the inhabited world (between 60 degrees south and 70 degrees north). Yellow and gold areas are where there has been more brightening during the study period, from 2014 to 2022, and purple areas are where there has been more dimming.
The visualization below shows the same data for the Eastern Hemisphere. Note that this version includes some artistic touches, such as simulated sunlight and shadows, while the nighttime lights data overlaid on the globe remain grounded in the scientific analysis. The image was featured on the cover of Nature, where the study was published in April 2026.
Overall, the researchers found that global radiance increased by 34 percent during the study period, but that surge masks large areas of dimming. Such “bidirectional changes” often happen side by side. In the U.S., for example, West Coast cities grew brighter as their populations increased, while much of the East Coast showed dimming, which the team attributed to the increased use of energy-efficient LEDs and broader economic restructuring.
The authors concluded that internationally, nighttime light surged in China and northern India along with urban development, while LEDs and energy conservation measures coincided with reduced light pollution in Paris and throughout France (a 33 percent dimming), the UK (22 percent dimming), and the Netherlands (21 percent dimming). European nights dimmed sharply in 2022 during a regional energy crisis that followed the outbreak of the Russia-Ukraine conflict.
Large versions of the maps on this page can be downloaded below. Animations showing annual changes in nighttime lights throughout the study period are available from NASA’s Scientific Visualization Studio.
NASA Earth Observatory images by Michala Garrison, using data from Li, T., et al. (2026). Story by Sally Younger adapted for Earth Observatory by Kathryn Hansen.
References & Resources
- Li, T., et al. (2026) Satellite imagery reveals increasing volatility in human night-time activity. Nature, 652, 379–386.
- NASA (2026, April 13) NASA Night-light Imagery Tracks US Energy Transition, Global Volatility. Accessed May 14, 2026.
- NASA’s Scientific Visualization Studio (2026, April 8) Global Nighttime Lights Change (2014–2022). Accessed May 14, 2026.
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